Interviews

Fresh Air Weekend: Scientology And Jimmy Kimmel

11:41am January 26, 2013

Lawrence Wright's Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief looks at the world of the controversial church and the life of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. This month, Kimmel sets up camp in the 11:35 p.m. slot, which puts him head-to-head with Jay Leno and his idol, David Letterman.

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Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo. Affleck also directed the film, which is based on events surrounding the Iran hostage crisis of 1979.

Fresh Air Weekend: Ben Affleck And Dustin Hoffman

11:59am January 19, 2013

Fresh off the Golden Globes, where Ben Affleck won for best director and Argo won for best motion picture/drama, Affleck talks about his approach to the film. Dustin Hoffman makes his directorial debut with a film about four aging opera singers who stage a concert at their retirement home.

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Lena Dunham's series Girls, which follows the lives of a group of young women in New York City, returns to HBO this month.

Fresh Air Weekend: Civil War, 'Downton' And 'Girls'

11:43am January 12, 2013

Civil War historian Bruce Levine says that from the destruction of the South emerged an entirely new country. On the hit Masterpiece Theater series, social rules are changing as the world events of the 20th century unfold. And David Bianculli reviews season two of 'Girls.'

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Diane Tells His Name, 61, grew up unaware of her Native American identity. When she discovered the truth in her late 30s, she adopted a child from her Lakota tribe, Bonnie Buchanan.

National

Mother To Daughter: 'That's When I Knew I Was Adopted'

8:35am January 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

Diane Tells His Name was 37 when she discovered she was adopted as a child. Rather than feeling anger or sadness, she embraced the opportunity to discover her Native American roots and eventually adopted a child of her own.

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Christoph Waltz (right, with Jamie Foxx) stars in Quentin Tarantino's new film Django Unchained.

Fresh Air Weekend: Tarantino, Waltz, 'Downton'

3:16pm January 05, 2013

With his latest film, director Quentin Tarantino was inspired by spaghetti Westerns and the Civil War. Christoph Waltz, who won an Oscar for his role in Inglourious Basterds, teams up with Tarantino again in 'Django.' On Sunday, the third season of 'Downton Abbey,' takes America by storm.

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Fresh Air's staff, surrounded by employees of WHYY at their 25th-anniversary party.

Music & Culture

'Fresh Air' At 25: A Live Musical Tribute

10:44am December 31, 2012

This year marked the 25th anniversary of Fresh Air as a daily national NPR program. This episode looks back at some of the great live musical performances from the show's archive, including songs from Shirley Horn, Loudon Wainwright III, Susannah McCorkle, Nick Lowe and Richard Thompson.

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Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel... is Ken Tucker's pick for best album of 2012.

Fresh Air Weekend: Critics' Picks For 2012

11:08am December 29, 2012

It's that time of year when best-of lists abound, and Fresh Air's critics get in on the game: David Bianculli chooses his top television shows, David Edelstein names his favorite films, Maureen Corrigan weighs in with notable books and Ken Tucker tunes into to some of the best albums of 2012.

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R.A. Dickey currently plays for the New York Mets. He was previously with the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers.

Sports
Books

R.A. Dickey On 'Winding Up' As A Knuckleballer

12:18pm December 27, 2012

New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey is currently the only knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues. His memoir, Wherever I Wind Up, explains how his life — and career — have mimicked the unpredictable trajectory of the difficult pitch he throws game after game.

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Fresh Air Weekend: Daniel Handler And Paul Lukacs

11:39am December 15, 2012

In Who Could That Be at This Hour?, a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler satirizes pulp mysteries. Author and oenophile Paul Lukacs traces the 8,000-year history of wine. Also, David Edelstein reviews Zero Dark Thirty.

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Five years after Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprise their roles as married couple Pete and Debbie. Now years into their marriage with two kids (played by Iris and Maude Apatow), Pete and Debbie approach 40 less than gracefully.

Fresh Air Weekend: Judd Apatow, Colm Toibin

1:17pm December 08, 2012

Judd Apatow draws on his own experiences in a new comedy that explores family life. In The Testament of Mary, Irish author Colm Toibin imagines Mary's life after the crucifixion, as she wonders what she might have done differently to ease her son's suffering.

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